like air travel. flying a combined 57 million miles. mr. rothstein and mr. vroom i salute you tonight. i raise my tray table in your honor. that's all for us tonight. ac 360 starts now. piers, thanks, good evening, everyone, it's 10:00 here on the east coast. they have foiled a terrorist plot to blow up an airliner, they're not saying where, oar when it happened. here's what we know, according to the fbi an improvised explosive device was seized and fbi officials are investigating it. it's a nonmetallic explosive similar to the one the underwear bomber used in his failed attempt in 2009. similar but not the same. the plot has the hallmarks of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula.

and president obama was briefed about the threat in april. chairman of the homeland security committee has been detaild briefed on the details and joins us on the phone. >> i've just discussed this. it's a nonmetallic device that was intended to be put on an american bound airline. it never made it to the airline, it's right now, as you said, being tested and analyzed by the fbi. a concern would be that being nonmetallic as to whether or not this would affect the security in our airports. this is an ongoing operation. this particular part of it occurred about -- sometime last month. sometime in april. it's not over as far as the operation itself, which is why you're seeing very few details being given out. >> the question to use your

judgment is what you can say or will say. >> is it known who with made this bomb? i mean, bomb makers tend to have a certain signature, there are certain bomb makers in yemen who are well known. is it known who made this? >> there's two things i can say. one is that persons who had the bomb, the exact language i was told is, we no honor have to be concerned about him, number one. and number two, you saw there was an attack in yemen over the weekend, and that is related to this whole operation. but other than that, i really can't comment. >> there's a type of explosive petn that was used in the attempted underwear bombing of the plane in detroit. is it similar to petn? >> no, all i can say is that it's nonmetallic and the fbi bomb experts are analyzing it right now, and this is -- again,

this was something that very much caused concern. and it's one of the most tightly held operations i've seen. i can tell you myself and no other member of congress knew anything about this including me until this afternoon. and that's unusual. and it always appears as if somehow this was leaked, because i don't know what your sources are telling you, if you look around this afternoon, very few people knew about it, even those in prominent positions. it seems that the administration was playing catchup is this afternoon, as far as getting everything out. i can tell you i spoke other congressional leaders and people in positions who almost always are briefed. and they knew nothing about it until this afternoon either. >> what do you mean raises -- what questions do you think? >> why this afternoon? tightly held operation. if it was leaked how was it leaked and why was it leaked?

i've been involved in a nun of these, i've seen them -- i never saw one that was so closely held and then came out all at once, the administration this afternoon, the top people in the intelligence agencies are not in any kind of position to talk about it, they seem taken somewhat by surprise, and also talking to other key democrats and republicans in congress. they felt they were caught totally offguard today, that's unusual. even with the bin ladin killing, members of congress were briefed before it happens. >> do you think there's some political reason for that? >> i really don't know as far as the administration. it could have been for somebody who had knowledge of what was happening. i'm not trying to bring politics into it at all. i was just saying, whether it's someone in the intelligence community or whatever. it's important. if there was a leak, we find out who did it.

we had some sensitive sources to get it from. it's risky, something like that is leaked out in an unplanned way. that seems to be what happened here. i could be wrong. key people i've spoken to this afternoon, they seem to have that impression too. >> are you pleased with how this person, this device was apparently apprehended? does it tell you that things are -- that there's a good safety net out there? >> yeah, there's two things. one is outstanding work, intelligence agencies, from all i've seen, this operated at 1,000%, and everyone involved zebs tremendous credit. it reminds us, though, that this war is not going to end in afghanistan. this is al qaeda, has metastasized and morphed and they are constantly trying to

find new ways of getting at us. they have skilled sign tuts and other people with advanced degrees who with are work withiwith i on a regular basis. and it never stops. i was talking to someone today who was very much involved in it, saying if this had happened prior to 9/11, this would have been a success, we would have had hundreds of americans killed. >> i don't want to say anything inappropriate. if this is a nonmetallic device as you said, our metal detectors at airports from my understanding cannot detect those, correct? >> i don't want to get into that other than to say, tsa would be putting in various components to stop it. that's what the bomb experts are looking at now. >> thank you very much. >> joining me now, frank towson is working with our sources.

and a former cia officer. fran, what is the late et you're hearing from your sources? >> well, you're asking about the bomb maker. what was said to me by a source in washington, who has firsthand knowledge, this had margined similarities to the underwear bomber, the cart ridge bomb. these bomb makers have a signature. there are marked similarities, there are differences. they are adapting to our screening -- >> they're a learning enemy. >> that's exactly correct. you can't count them out. they're clearly determined and adaptive. >> when you heard congressman king say he had been told that the person who was going to deliver this device or has this device is no longer a threat, they're either dead or captured? >> correct. >> and the same thing was said to me. i said, there's only two

possibilities. >> you said this is about as high-tech as would be terrorists get. does there sophistication on this worry you? >> a lot. they're using chemical initiators, you take a syringe and it sort of builds. you're bypassing any sort of metal. it can be done in a plastic container or glass container. it can go to a high explosive. anderson as you said, sometimes it's petn. there are other explosives. there is no metal in it, it makes it difficult for tsa to catch one these things because they have to run them through a chemical analysis like a neutron detector. this is why there's been such a tight hold on this, people don't want to talk about the technology, and the fact that they're improving their technology. and i think these guys are very, very good.

i've seen these airplane bombs back in the '80s, they bypassed the airport security then, they continue to adapt, i think we should consider this a real threat to aviation. >> nic robertson looked into petn. which is the name that's being used in this. it's nonmetallic. and petn was the explosive used by the underwear with bomber. i want to show you what nick discovered about what petn is capable of. take a look at this clip. >> here we go. >> explosive expert showed me the power of a tiny amount of pe petn. this really is a messy powder. >> then he agreed to replicate printer toner bombs. >> if this were explosive, bits

of me would go around the room. >> 3, 2, 1 that is where the table was standing, you can see the blast effect. if that had been part of an airplane's fuselage, heaven help the airplane. it would have been a terminal event i'm afraid. >> how does somebody -- i don't want to say anything inappropriate. but is it easy for people to get or make petn? >> one of the things al qaeda in yemen, if the arabian peninsula has been boasting about in the inspire magazines, al qaeda's glossy magazines, about how to do your magazines, if you will, they printed a couple of those magazines last week, they were boasting there about the fact

that they've taken control of the territory inside yemen, and they've taken control of la bore torys there, they upgraded which has given them access to the chemicals and the space, so they have the laboratories, the chemicals and the space and the technical know how to do it. what their advantage is they have everything they need to build these devices, their problem is getting these devices out of yemen, because the counter terrorism effort is focused on contains them in yemen and exporting them to a position where they can go on board aircrafts flying to the united states. they have a lot of the necessary components and know how at their disposal in an environment they can work on these devices. >> what are the questions u.s. intelligence want to understand about the device, about the people behind it. >> i think the main thing is,

who made it? he favors the use of petn. how is it going to be detonated, as bob mentioned, if you're using plastic syringes to detonate it on an aircraft, it's not going to be detected before you get it on the aircraft. is it similar to the plot using 80 grams of petn that was being shipped in the united states and chicago. in that case, that particular printer had gone through all types of screening, machines and other devices. the saudi arabian intelligence service provided detailed information to look at that particular package, the british authorities used dogs and the dogs sniffed that package and couldn't detect 80 grams of petn a mere few irnls from their noses. materials like that are very easily concealed, very hard to detect and depending on how they're packaged and how they're going to be carried poses a terrific threat to everybody.

>> it's scary listening to you. and i don't like to -- there's not much that makes me scared. i don't like to promote things that make other people scared. the idea that those bombs in the printers that went through so many multiple screenings, dogs and devices, and yet we're still able to get through, is there technology in the pipeline that can detect this stuff? >> i'm not sure about the technology. many people make so many claims, you talk to the company owners of companies using these dogs and they brag about the high possessage that they can detect. and the reality, they miss it. that particular package in london, that was going to be shipped to a jewish center in chicago, illinois would have made it. if it wasn't for the specific information, it had already gone through two or three airport screenings to get to london, it was one airplane away from being shipped to the united states and successfully arriving. other than the intelligence that interrupted that plot, the

technology did not intercede to make us safer in that case. we don't know what was -- all the details about this particular device to know if it's any better. >> is this a matter of time before something like this gets through? >> i'm afraid so. if this all died down of its own accord, if the palestinians are helping them improve if, the risk goes up. this is the second one that's been carried on by a passenger, meant to be carried on by a passenger, and i think one day they'll get through. >> do you agree with him? >> yes, i do. the one thing we should say. to give some people some sense of comfort. you often know you get swabbed. and that's meant to detect explosive traces. it's the sort of thing you hope would pick up if someone had been handling this sort of device. this was not meant to be a body cavity device.

this was meant to be an external device. you don't have those around the world. >> it's very random. >> what have you to hope is, the proliferation of those kinds of machines and that kind of screening -- >> troubling development today. fran, appreciate it, nic roberts robertson, appreciate all of your expertise. let us know what you think, we're on facebook, google plus, twit twitter @andersoncooper. what the president said in the past sure sounds a lot different than what biden is saying now. for three hours a week, i'm a coach.

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that's why at ally we have the raise your rate 2-year cd. you can get a one-time rate increase if our two-year rate goes up. if your bank makes you miss out, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. keeping them honest tonight. joe biden's comments about same sex marriage aren't all that difference from president obama's stansz on the issue. he said more and more americans understand gay marriage comes down to this. who do you love and will you be loyal to the person you love. sounds like the strongest endorsement for gay marriage yet from the highest ranking official so far. when asked flat out if that means he's now comfortable with same-sex marriage, here's how biden answered. >> i am vice president of the united states of america. the president sets the policy. i am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men,

women marrying women and heterosexual men and women marrying are entitled to all the same rights, all the civil liberties. i don't seep of a distinction beyond that. >> the white house insists what he said was not a departure from president obama's position. they say he didn't say anything the president hasn't said before. senior obama campaign adviser david axelrod tweeted this. quote, what vp said that all married couples should have exactly the same legal rights as the president of the united states. mr. biden said he's comfortable with the fact same-sex couples are entitled to all the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. but that's not the case. even in states where same-sex marriage is allowed. and it's certainly not president bhaum's position. there's no federal recognition. if one member of a same-sex couple is from a foreign country, the federal immigration department service doesn't allow

that person to get a green card if they marry. a heterosexual couple would have that right. biden did not say the federal government should recognize same-sex marriage. he may not be informed on the issue. mr. obama talks about work to be done on his position evolving over the past few years. >> whether gays and lesbians should be able to get married, i've spoken about this recently as i've said. my feelings about this are constantly evolving. i struggle with this. >> you said your position is evolving. you said you're struggling with it. what more do you need to know? >> well, you know, i probably won't make news right now, george. but i think that there's no doubt that as i see friends, families, children of gay couples who are thriving, that has an impact on how i think about these issues. >> again, what i know is what his position was during the campaign and what it is now. you know, he's been very clear about it.

he was very clear in the campaign. he's very clear about the fact that his position, that it's evolving. the president said he was evolving. >> so did mr. biden's view of same sex marriage evolve further and faster than the president's? biden was asked if he would short same-sex marriage in a second term he didn't know the answer to that question. half americans favor legalized same-sex marriage. and there's a push from some like nancy pelosi to make support for it part of a platform in the upcoming election. jay carney doesn't have an update on the president's personal views on same-sex marriage. pressed carney on why the president won't be more direct. >> the president was asked this and his personal views on this were evolving. >> everybody deserves to live and love the way they see fit. we've got a ways to go the the struggle. what is he referring to if not gay marriage?

>> well, i think you have heard him say and those in the administration like myself who speak for him that he opposes efforts to restrict rights, to repeal rights for same-sex couples. >> so can you explain then clearly what -- how vice president biden who said there is a consensus building toward gay marriage in this nation, and then came out yesterday saying he is absolutely comfortable with men marrying men and women with marrying women having equal rights is not an endorsement of gay marriage? >> i think the vice president expressed his personal views. he also said he was evolving on the issue. i think the -- >> when? >> he did not say that. >> he did. >> no, the spokesperson said that afterwards. >> let me be clear. the vice president -- what he said about the protection of rights of citizens is completely consistent with the president's position on this issue. >> is that really the case?

joining me now to get into the raw politics, white house correspondent jessica yellin and former clinton white house senior adviser. jessica, was this joe biden just kind of speaking out of term as joe biden sometimes does? or do you think this is some part of a calculated effort to have it both ways? >> no, this was not a calculated rollout by the white house. there's no way they wanted this today. the campaign was intending to have today focused on their new ad campaign framing the election. but this was a mess of the white house's own making. the bottom line is, the president has this convoluted position on gay marriage. he has in a sense taken a position where he says to gay families when he's talking at fund raisers, he'll say things that will indicate to them that he seems to be for possibly gay marriage in a second term. he'll say things like there's

much more work to be done when it comes to loving couples having more rights. when i talk to gay donors, many of whom give to the campaign, they say he will be for gay marriage in a second term but he will not come out and say that publicly. so they are inevitably going to get caught up in this when the white house is being so vague. in a sense they are trying to have it both ways. this was a mess for the white house. >> richard, the president seems to believe this is a states issue. vice president biden is on the same page with the president. but vice president biden is saying gay couples should have the same rights as heterosexual couples in marriage. but if it's a states right issue, the federal government doesn't recognize those marriages and other federal issues, they don't have the same rights. >> yeah. i don't think that's currently the president's position. although as jessica said, it's

very hard to discern where the president is. he's got a neither yes nor neither no position. i think what he -- awhile back when he talked about the rights of states to decide for themselves, i think he was speaking about the new york situation last summer and others. this is an issue we're having a national discussion on. and the president needs to articulate a leadership position. this issue's not going to go away. especially now after vice president biden's very candid and quite frankly welcomed remarks. >> do you think he's trying to have it both ways? that he's going to after the election speak out in support of same sex marriage? >> i think he's gotten some bad political advice. some of his advisers have determined if between now and the election that he remains neutral on this, it may be advantageous for him. i think not only are they wrong

in terms of the electoral map, but i think that they are wrong because people want their president to lead on important issues like equality. >> jessica, doesn't this sort of, for the president, play into the criticism he got after talking to the former russian president where he talked about -- he said he would have more flexibility after the election? >> well, arguably yes, you could think he doesn't speak his mind fully. but the truth is when you look at the polling data, anderson, there is a cold, hard, political reality. which is there are certain key groups that don't support gay marriage. while the majority of americans do, by small majorities, african-americans, voters over 50, and non-college voters do not support gay marriage. and in a razor thin election, those are groups that the campaign may loathe to alienate. and this is a decision they've made that they don't want to take a risk in coming out on

this issue now. and if he's re-elected he could come out on it afterwards and they might have decided no harm done in making that choice. >> richard? >> i think jessica's exactly right. she summed it up very well. but the point is, you know, a majority of americans now support this and nobody who supports -- who doesn't support the president is going to vote against him because of his stands on gay rights. this president has been a terrific president on gay rights. this one issue is not going to change anybody's vote. and we already know what the president stands for. >> richard, it could -- you know, for those who are opposed to same-sex marriage, it could mobilize them and make them more motivated to vote against the president. >> you know, i think that if you make electoral and campaign

decisions based upon who's going to be mobilized on the other side, i just think this whole political calculation is way too cute. this is an issue that we're having a national debate on. the president can't say i haven't made up my mind. what is he going to say, i haven't made up my mind? he's shown such great leadership on so many other issues including other gay rights issues. i think he's going to have to say something about this. >> appreciate you being on. a neurosurgeon is running for congress isn't backing down from his birther comments. he believes president obama's birth certificate is a forgery. my interview with him next. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about fees.

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explaining to do. what happened to more than the $50,000 it collected to help disabled veterans. they have not seen the money. we're keeping them honest.

most of the country including top republicans thought the birther issue was dead. but in north carolina, on the eve of its primaries the issue is once again alive. long after the matter was put to rest by facts, several candidates are questioning president obama's birthplace. in north carolina's ninth district race, jim pendergraph said he has reason to be suspicious about kwaej president obama was born in the united states. he also said quote, generally where there's smoke there's got to be fire somewhere. in the state's eighth district, richard hudson who is a leading

candidate to unseat the current democrat told a tea party group, there's no question president obama's hiding something on his citizenship. he's been backing off that comment in recent days. but one of his opponents a neurosurgeon isn't backing down at all. he's called the birth certificate quote, a poorly reproduced forgery. how does he know this? he compared it to the hawaiian birth certificate of one of his staffers. he said there's a tremendous amount of smoke here. it's a smoke screen. i could go through all the evidence on his birth certificate point by point, but this has been done so many times before. i wanted to talk to dr. whitley to see how a doctor, a man of science could continue to make completely disproving claims about president obama's citizenship. i spoke to him earlier. >> dr. whitley, you say you and your people confirmed president obama's birth certificate was forged. you claim you've confirmed this on your own. how do you do that? are you a trained expert in

historical legal documents in hawaii? >> no, i'm not. no. what we did was we took a bona fide original birth certificate from hawaii and we subjected it to the same scrutiny that the document experts hired by sheriff arpaio did. and we came up essentially with the same results that they did. we were just reproducing what his experts came up with with their evaluation. >> you say he hired -- first of all you say sheriff arpaio hired experts. he hired nobody. he had volunteers who were former investigators a volunteer posse allegedly working on this. so do you know by name his document experts? >> no, i do not. >> so you don't know he had document experts. >> i would think that sheriff arpaio, who is a great american, as far as i am concerned, he would not ask someone 20 review a document that he did not feel

they were expert and qualified to render opinion, whether they charge for it. in fact the fact that they did not charge for it, from what you're saying, i believe gives more credence to their results. >> when experts examined the employee who worked for you who you believe is a bona fide birth certificate. >> the individual who has the birth certificate is a medical expert in terms of the type of specialty that he's in which is nuclear medicine. he's not a document expert -- >> you're saying somebody who works with you who you -- who has a bona fide hawaiian birth certificate, how do you know it's a bona fide hawaiian birth certificate? >> i have seen it. i have it. i have ran my fingers across the seal. i have looked at it. >> so you're seeing seals can't

be forged. i'm curious. you don't believe president obama's birth certificate but because you raised your fingers on a raised seal on a document, you believe it's real? >> i believe that the birth certificate of the individual who works for me is an accurate, original birth certificate. >> but you've had no experts examine it but you've taken this on faith because you raised your fingers on raised seal. >> i've held it in my hand. i take it on faith that this is -- >> you know nonpartisan organizations have looked at the certificate of president obama, they ran their fingers on this raised seal as well and declared that a legitimate document. you also know that there were -- that the former health director in the state of hawaii has testified and given an affidavit that she examined president obama's birth certificate and it's legitimate and the republican governor of hawaii has verified that as well. >> well, i think there's a lot of subjectivity to that.

i'm not exactly convinced that is the case. if the -- >> so it's part of some conspiracy from the governor of hawaii, the health director of hawaii, factcheck.org and nonpartisan organizations that have examined that, as well as the state registrar who has confirmed the 2011 document released is the actual birth certificate? they're all in a grand conspiracy? >> i'm just saying i don't think the document the white house released as a long form of his birth certificate is a legitimate copy of the real birth certificate. >> but, sir, you know it was verified by the state registrar of hawaii. so you're saying they're in on this? >> i'm saying there's a lot of questions that still lend itself do this birth certificate which is taking us away really from the important issues that we need to be discussing. >> sir, you're the one who brought these issues up. you have a few thousand dollars in your bank account.

isn't this just a desperate attempt to appeal to folks who may come out and vote tomorrow? isn't this a desperate -- i mean, you're a doctor, you're a smart guy. there's no evidence this is a fake document. why should anyone believe that the document that some person you know who says they're from hawaii, why should anybody believe that's real? >> well, this document is here and available for anyone who would like to come and personally look at it, touch it, feel it, feel the seal on the document. they can do that. we cannot do that with the current document out there about president obama. >> have you run your fingers along president bush's seal on his birth certificate? have you raised objections? have you looked at his birth certificate? >> no, i have not. >> no. so it's only this president who you believe you need to examine personally his birth certificate. have you flown to -- have you made any effort to contact the white house and ask for it? >> no, i have not. >> dr. john whitley who's running tomorrow in the election and wants to be a congressman from the eighth congressional district in north carolina.

the primary, as i said, is tomorrow. coming up, big question about big money raised for disabled veterans. keeping them honest. we're going to look at what one charity did with nearly $50 million and why the donations never made it to those who need it. tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke,

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coming up will a school bake sale be a thing of the past? the ridiculist coming up on "360."

another keeping them honest report. when you open your heart and a wallet to help a charity, how do you know your money will be put to good use? there are new questions tonight about millions of dollars donated in hopes of helping disabled veterans.

the charity that collected all that cash is under scrutiny because there's no sign of the money helping the men and women who have sacrificed so much to keep all of us safe. here's drew griffin of cnn's investigations unit. >> reporter: mary ellis is pretty charitable especially to groups for disabled veterans. so it didn't surprise her when she opened her mailbox one day when s and she found this. >> with your husband's name on them? >> uh-huh. >> reporter: in the industry they're called guilt packages. in this one is big calculator and a calendar book, she felt the guilty tug to make that donation. >> see. it started with disabled american veterans. how many people are going to look at it and think that they are the same organization? >> and they're not? >> no. >> reporter: in fact, the gifts were not from the well known and respected disabled american veterans but a newer smaller charity.

the disabled veterans national foundation. something didn't smell right, so this retired english teacher did some republican and found that the dvnf gets an f from a charity watchdog group. according to its tax filings, raising nearly $56 million in donations for veterans in the past three years, but according to the records cnn found, none of that $56 million has gone to direct services for veterans. >> making lots of money off of it. when you're talking about millions of dollars that people are doing by grabbing money from people who don't have it. >> who believe out of the goodness of their own heart that they are giving money to the troops. >> a worthy cause. >> the purpose is to try to explain to me why these numbers don't add up. cnn has been trying to reach the disabled veterans national foundation off and on for nearly two years.

a public relations man did return our phone call outside the group's washington, d.c. headquarters in 2010. but the manager refused to talk. and despite e-mails and more phone calls, our repeated requests for interviews were all denied. >> up to $2 billion is raised in the name of veterans in this country, and it's so sad that a great deal of us waste hundreds of millions of dollars of our charitable dollars intended to help veterans is being squandered and wasted by opportunists and individuals and companies that see it as a profit making opportunity. >> reporter: daniel boricof runs a charity group out of chicago. he grades charities at how much good and bad they do with your donations. veterans and military charities are some of the worst, he says. and that includes the disabled veterans national foundation,

which he gives an f. hardly any of the donations make it to the group they are fund raising more. now back to the $56 million they have raised. if it hasn't gone to direct contributions to veterans, where exactly did it go? >> as far as we can tell up to the tenth floor of this manhattan office building to a company called quadrega arts. a company that specializes in fund-raising. as far as we can tell, they know a lot about fund raising for itself. quadriga is a private company which according to its website raises money for more than 500 charities and nonprofits worldwide. in an e-mail to cnn, a company spokesman said quote, it does not discuss specific client relationships. but that spokesman did say quadriga at times chooses to invest money in partnerships with non-profit organizations. to today they told cnn it's lost

$7 million investing in veteran nonprofit organizations. that may be true, but in the case of the disabled veterans national foundation, according to tax documents, not only did the nearly $56 million in cash donations go to fund-raising costs, but the dvnf still owes its foundation another $5 million. it sounds like backwards math. they are reporting on their tax returns that it is costing more than a dollar to raise a dollar. despite the fact that it's fund-raising contract says it wins its fair share of business because it is a low cost provider in the nonprofit marketplace. >> it's like printing money, they print these solicitations, they send them out to millions of people. they don't care about the percentage return. all they care about is how much money they get from it. >> drew, this is unbelievable.

how does this charity get away with this? how can they take in all this money and not give it to any of the people they say they're collecting it for? >> that's the answer we've been searching for. according to the irs, this is a registered charitable foundation. it does get a lot of warnings, f grades from the organizations that monitor these charities, but there doesn't seem to be anything in place that says you can't do this. and there may be a little loophole. the dvnf does actually give away some stuff, anderson. it's just stuff like coconut m & ms. >> we have some of these here. why on earth did this charity send candy? >> we found out it's one of these tricks of the trades. the disabled veterans national foundation does give away stuff. donated stuff. junk maybe. leftover stuff that the actual veterans assistance groups are telling us they don't need. want an example?

one group got hundreds of chefs coats, mens football pants. and thousands and thousands of those bags of coconut m&ms. >> it's incredible. thank you. we're going to continue to look into this tomorrow night. it raises so many questions and people need to know about this organization. you can see part two of drew's report tomorrow night. commenting up, we have the latest in a murder of churchill downs. we're going to tell you what they're waiting for before releasing the cause of death.

release the cause of death when they finish their investigation or the killer is arrested. jurors heard from one of john edwards closest campaign advisers. he was urged to stay away from rielle hunter. john edwards is accused of using campaign cash to cover up their relationship. fears of the future of austerity plans caused stocks to slide this morning but recovered ground. prince harry is in washington, d.c., tonight all decked out for his humanitarianests. harry is a captain and pies lot 234 britain's army air

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time now for the the ridiculist. and tonight we're adding the bake sale ban in massachusetts. that's right. put away the coffee cake. don't think about the boston cream pie. bake sales are soon to be a thing of the past. according to boston herald, part of a new effort to curb obesity, officials are cracking down on the types of foods sold in public schools. let's stop right there, before you tweet me or write me a letter, unless it's in cream cheese frosting, i'm not interested. i want to go on record to say i'm anti-obesity.

i think school lunches should be healthy and i support getting junk food out of the vending machines but not the cnn vending machines. i have credit on this issue. it's not like the table outside my office was filled with cupcakes today. okay. it was. but seriously, i love healthy food. >> spinach? all right. >> wow. >> now, clearly i enjoyed the first time i had spinach. and i always eat my vegetables in front of a studio audience. here's the thing, according to the herald, some parents are concerned healthy bake sales won't raise crucial money for school trips and other projects. brownies taste amazing, and spinach tastes like wolf blitzer's beard in a salad. need to get healthy and lay off the junk food.

in my old school mind, this is still what they do when they have free time. >> i love these fries. >> if you love them, why don't you marry them. can i have some? >> go ahead. >> god, these are good. >> cindy can you leave some for us? >> i thought you were trying to lose weight. >> lay off me, i'm starving! >> that's a classic. so good people of massachusetts, the rthplace of the american revolution, keep the school lunches healthy. i support you all the way. but no more bake sales? it really needs some sugar coating. i guess i'll wash it down on the ridiculist. that's it for us tonight. thanks for watching. erin burnett "outfront" starts now. all eyes on the french and their new president. there's a much bigger and scarier problem. we'll tell you about it, and presidenob